Night Changes
by AngelDevilChica
Summary: Maya and Lucas haven't spoken in years. After he chose Riley and she fought with Maya, there was little love between the two former friends, but senior year is about making up for all the crazy choices you made in your younger years, and maybe it can be a reunion year, for old friends, and for a pair of lovers who never had their chance. Lucaya!
1. We're Only Getting Older, Baby

**~ Maya ~**

As much as she couldn't believe she'd made it to Senior year, Maya was beyond happy to be starting the first day of what would likely be her last year of high school education. She smiled a bit to herself as she pulled into the Adams High Senior lot and snagged the first spot she saw.

"Hey dollface!" She called out as she passed through the front door into the busy hallway!

"Maya!" Smackle cheered, knocking people out of the way to get to her friend.

Maya chuckled, "I missed you! Next summer if you travel, I'm coming along!"

Smackle nodded and held out her hand to shake. "Deal!"

They both laughed a little more as they began to trek towards their lockers. The hall was crowded, but they were used to the shoving.

"Have you hung out with Zay at all these last few weeks?" Smackle asked

Maya sighed, "No, he was finishing up summer work outs for football, which means he's been spending more time with the other team."

Smackle tried her best not to frown, she never knew how best to cheer Maya up when she felt like she was being abandoned, but she'd taken it upon herself to be Maya's cheerer upper ever since things had come apart.

"Look at the bright side May, at least this is the last year of the custody agreement."

Maya rolled her eyes. "I just think it's stupid that he still actually tries to go back and forth when everyone else has just chosen a side. I mean I get that Lucas was his friend before I was, but he agrees that what Lucas and Riley did wrong."

Smackle simply frowned.

Maya barely noticed as she wretched her locker open and began to shove her old things back in.

"Is it at all possible that you and Riley might come to terms with what happened?" Smackle asked

"You ask me every year," Maya sighed, pausing to look at her friend, "and every year I tell you the same thing. I don't care what Riley and Lucas do anymore, but I think it's stupid that we've spent the last three years trying to share Zay."

Smackle frowned, despite the fact that she was used to the divide, she had hoped maybe one day it could go back to how it used to be.

Hello my darling readers. Please feel welcome to give me your feed back, your accolades and your criticism are all welcome! I want to know what you think :)


	2. Written On These Walls

**~ Lucas ~**

It was the first day of Senior year, and something felt off. Despite the fact that he liked to pretend he didn't know what was bothering him, he was dreading what this day would bring.

"You gonna be ok bro?" Zay asked him, clapping him over the shoulder.

He nodded.

"You nervous to see her."

Lucas nodded, "I just really hope she's had time to calm down. The last time we talked it was really ugly."

"Break ups usually are, you know that." Zay responded.

"Well yeah, but it's not like I've ever been through one, Riles and I have been together since Freshman year."

Now it was Zay's turn to nod thoughtfully.

"Would it be better to just avoid her today?" Lucas asked, they had passed through the front doors and made their way down the crowded hall to their lockers by then.

"I don't know," he replied, "If you avoid her she'll probably notice, and that might make things worse."

Lucas sighed. "I guess you're right."

The two boys twisted their locks open and began loading their possessions messily.

"Hey guys!" a female voice called from behind them, causing Zay to jump and Lucas to laugh at him.

"Hey Smackle!" Lucas chuckled.

She waved quickly before turning to Zay, "You should probably have lunch with ME today." She said, widening her eyes a bit.

Lucas noticed Zay's eyes flashing as well. "Is everything ok?" he asked

Smackle nodded, "Yes, for now, but I think that your absence has been noticed."

Lucas frowned. "His absence from what?"

Zay however didn't seem confused at all.

"Should I be worried?" he asked Smackle, choosing to ignore Lucas's question.

"She seemed a little offended that you ditched her while I was abroad."

Lucas's eyes widened, "Are you two talking about Maya?"

Neither person answered him, but he could see in their eyes that he'd hit a dead ringer.

"Yo man, Maya is your friend, if she wants to hang out with you it's totally cool, don't feel the need to hang around on my account." Lucas told Zay.

Zay smiled, "It's cool man. I will just text Maya and tell her to come over after practice tonight, you too Smackle!"

"That sounds fun. I will work on convincing Maya!"

Both boys laughed at her obvious enthusiasm, watching her march off into the crowded hall way all alone.

"You know, I think that's the first time in a while that I have heard you say anything about Maya." Zay commented.

"I was never not talking about her. Her and Riley were fighting, but I tried to reach out to her and she ignored me." Lucas argued

Zay rolled his eyes, "Yeah, because after you chose Riley and incited the fight that ended their friendship, she totally wants to be your bestie!"

Lucas frowned, "incited?"

"You're missing the point man. Maya lost her best friend, and on top of that she really cared about you, so I think that you hurt her feelings a bit as well." Zay explained

Lucas nodded, slamming his locker shut he considered his next words carefully.

"You know I didn't want to hurt Maya right? I mean, I did, and that makes me feel terrible, but I tried to make the smart decision."

Zay nodded, "I know man, it's just, maybe with relationships it's no always about smart."

Lucas said nothing more as Zay picked up his much lighter book bag and marched into the busy hall way towards his first class.

Lucas is much harder for me to write than Maya, let me know if you think he's coming across in an authentic way, or if it seems cheesy!


	3. When The Wolves Come Out

**~ Maya ~**

Maya looked down at her schedule in frustration, her first two classes on Monday's were of course Calculous and Physics, her least favorite subjects. AP Art History followed her 2 free periods though, and then her painting elective closed out her Mondays, after lunch, History, and English.

Groaning a bit at her shitty luck, she hiked her backpack up higher on her shoulder and marched her way to her Calc class, sliding into one of the last empty seats just as the bell rang.

"Cutting it a little close there aren't ya Maya?" Mr. Simpson asked

She sighed, "I made it in by the bell"

The teacher only nodded before addressing the entire class, "Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Calculous 1. Most of you have had me as your teacher before, but for those of you who haven't, I'm Mr. Simpson, and I look forward to getting to know you over the course of this year."

Maya could already feel her attention wavering, pulling out her notebook she began drawing little doodles to keep her awake. She was unsure how long she was distracted, but eventually she noticed everyone around her getting up and moving around.

"Is class done already?" She asked the brunette girl who had been sitting behind her

The girl, who Maya knew as Frenchie, laughed, "We're moving into our pairs, Mr. Simpson just read off our partners for the semester. We team assignments, team tests, as well as our own work."

Maya groaned, but began looking around for her partner, though she was unsure who exactly it was.

"Ms. Hart," Mr. Simpson called, noticing her lost expression, "Mr. Friar is over here."

Maya's head snapped in his direction, eyes wide with shock. "Excuse me?" she stammered, hoping she hadn't heard him correctly.

"Your partner, Mr. Friar, he's seated up here, bring your things to this seat please." Mr. Simpson replied, gesturing towards the desk that was now pushed right up against another, one that was occupied by none other than Lucas Friar.

Maya, grabbed her things quickly and marched over to her new seat, silently cursing both her teacher and her new partner.

"Thank you!" Mr. Simpson smiled, "Now that we are all in our teams, why don't we take a few moments to properly get to know each other, maybe we can do a little ice breaker where we introduce our partners?"

Maya rolled her eyes, keeping her gaze fixed on the black board in front of her.

"Hi." Lucas said quietly, making her jump

His voice was so much deeper than she remembered, and she realized then that she hadn't him speak in years.

Her continued silence gave him pause, she could tell, but he seemed to take it in stride.

"I am assuming that this is going to be uncomfortable for the both of us. So why don't we just do the best we can for the 30 minutes we have left in here today?" He pressed

Taking a deep breath, she plastered a fake smile on to her face and offered him her hand, "Hi, I'm Maya Hart."

For a moment he looked shocked, glancing between her face and her hand she could have sworn he even looked a little hurt.

"I-I know your name Maya." He stammered

She rolled her eyes, "Great. Well, go on then, tell me about yourself, so I can introduce you."

Lucas blinked at her a few times before continuing awkwardly, "I'm Lucas Friar, and I am from Texas?" he said

"Nice to meet you Lucas." Maya said bitterly. "I'm Maya, I'm from New York. Now we have something to introduce each other with, so shut the fuck up and leave me alone."

Lucas' mouth hung open as she turned in her seat to face the front of the room again. She sat in silence for the next 5 minutes while the rest of their classmates finished up their introductory conversations. Mr. Simpson finally called for quiet, and began calling on pairs to introduce each other.

"'Maya, and Lucas, why don't you two go next." He said after a few of the other teams had gone.

Maya sighed and stood up, ready to speak and get this whole thing over with. She opened her mouth only to be interrupted by Lucas' deep voice.

"This is Maya Hart," He said, "She went to the same middle school as me, and we were in the same class. She likes art a lot, and she's a really good painter."

Maya looked up at him in shock, caught off guard at his words.

"Oh!" He continued, as if he'd forgotten something, "and she's from New York."

Maya swallowed the nasty comment she wished she could fling at him, and instead turned to the rest of the class.

"This is Lucas Friar. He's from Texas, and as a kid he tried to ride a sheep, but fell off and embarrassed his entire family." She bit out, drawing a few chuckles from her classmates.

Lucas didn't seem amused though.

Both teens sat back down and ignored each other for the rest of the period. By the time the bell rang, Maya had already packed up and was out the door in record time.

The rest of her day passed in a hurry. She sat next to Farkle in Physics, and Smackle in History, and ignored Zay through English, even though he was next to her the entire time. Art was her sanctuary, as always, and she was glad she got to spend two hours with it this year. Finally as the bell rang, she was pleased to be free of the hell hole that school was.

"Zay invited us over!" Smackle smiled as Maya closed her locker

"Zay can go fuck himself." Maya replied

Smackle frowned, "That's disgusting Maya!"

The blonde only laughed.

"Look at that! She smiles!" Zay cheered, walking over to them

Maya rolled her eyes, "What do you want Isaiah?"

Zay chuckled, "oooo Isaiah huh? I'm in trouble aren't I?"

"She says you can go eff yourself." Smackled offered, earning a dirty look from Maya.

"Ouch! You wound me Blondie!" Zay laughed, feigning pain in his chest.

"Leave me alone Zay, don't you have to go to football practice with pretty boy?" She snapped

"I don't have to go anywhere today, practice is canceled for the day, coach's wife had her baby." He explained

Maya rolled her eyes, "Great, then you and prince faggot can go jerk each other off."

Smackle winced at her words, and Zay coughed a bit.

"Jesus Maya! That mouth of yours is too much!" Zay chided

She ignored him.

"I am here because I want to hang out with you, and because I wanted to tell you that I am throwing a party Friday night after the football game, I would like for you to come." He continued

Maya sighed, "You have other friends Zay, obviously. Why are you asking me."

It was Zay's turn to roll his eyes, "Come on Maya, don't be silly. It's football season, Lucas is my teammate, plus, we grew up together, why shouldn't we hang out occasionally. It's not my fault you guys don't get along."

"You're right, its his." She snapped

Zay sighed, "Come to the party Maya, it will be fun."

Maya was torn. Zay's were always the best parties of the year, and she had never missed one before, but they always involved a strategic amount of planning to ensure that she never ran into Riley or Lucas. She wasn't in the mood to play hide and seek anymore. On the other hand, it seemed like it could be fun!  
"Fine." She conceded, "But there better be good booze, and Pizza!"

Zay smiled, looping his arm through hers as the three of them marched toward the door

"Of course Blondie! Now come on, I owe you ladies a smoothie." He said

Well that was a long one... you know where this one is going gang - Review please!


	4. Baby, Look What You've Done To Me

**~ Riley ~**

She wasn't hurt by the fact that she hadn't been personally invited to Zay's party. Or at least, that's what she told herself. She knew that things would be different now. She just wasn't sure where she fit anymore. All her friends were cheerleaders, unless you counted Farkle, who she rarely saw anymore, and Smackle who as of late seemed to prefer Maya's company.

She tried to convince herself that Zay and Charlie were her friends, but as the first week of school wore on it became clear that they were Lucas'. Lucas had won custody of so many things in their split. He'd won more of their shared friends, he'd won the composure, and all she'd gotten was his letterman jacket, which she swore she was going to return as soon as she was in a better state of mind.

"You ok?" Cheyenne asked her

Riley smiled, "Yeah, totally! Why?"

"You just looked far away is all. Have you decided what you want to wear tonight?" Cheyenne responded

Riley nodded, holding up her black pleated skirt and pale blue cami.

"Cute!" Chey squealed, "Think I can borrow your studded heels?"

Riley nodded towards her closet, "Do your thing!"

The two girls got ready for the party slowly, talking and laughing the whole way.

"So, I have dirt!" Chey said as she leaned over Riley's vanity, carefully curling her eyebrows.

Riley chuckled, "Spill it sister."

"Ok! Word on the street is that Austin Lake is going to ask you out tonight." Chey giggled

Riley felt her stomach drop. "Who told you that?"

"He did?" Chey said frowning, "I thought you would be happy!"

"It's only been a month since Lucas and I broke up Cheyenne! Why would I be happy about going out with another guy?" Riley demanded

Cheyenne looked at her friend carefully, "Riles, I thought you would be happy to move on. Especially since Lucas has."

Riley sighed, blinking back tears she tried her best not to be the crazy mopey girl who cried all the time.

"I can't believe he went on a date with Alyssa." Riley said in a small voice.

Chey sighed, "I think it was just a rebound honey. He just needed to get back out there, and so do you."

"I'm not ready for that! I wasn't ready for us to break up either, I can't believe that he's started to see other people! I was so sure after it all happened that he would call in a few days and say he was ready to get back together." Riley sighed

"What even happened anyway?" Chey asked, "You never really told me."

Riley frowned a bit, looking at her feet, "He came over to watch a movie, and we were talking about the future and stuff, and I told him that I wanted us to apply to the same schools, or at least ones close together for college and stuff, and he said that he didn't really know if he wanted to do that. So I asked him why not. And he said because he wasn't really sure about us anymore. So we had a long conversation about what we wanted and where we saw our futures, and he said he didn't think he saw a future with me in a romantic sense, so we fought, and then he left, and we haven't talked since then."

"Oh Riles!" Chey cried

"It's fine. I'm fine. I just wish I knew when he decided he didn't love me. Was it a recent thing, or was he just playing me from the beginning? I just want to know why, ya know?" Riley explained

Cheyenne nodded, "Well, he's going to be at the party tonight, you could always ask him."

Riley sighed, "Maybe. I don't know, maybe I should just go to the party and try to have fun. Maybe I should take Austin up on his offer, I mean what's a date right?"

Cheyenne frowned as she watched her friend march across the hall into her bathroom. She had no idea how Riley was feeling, but she knew that her friend wasn't happy, and that wasn't ok.


	5. If This Room Was Burning

**~ Maya ~**

She strolled up to Zays building with nothing but confidence, humming happily to herself as she stepped into the waiting elevator and pressed the button for his floor. As she walked down the hall, she could hear loud music thumping through the walls. She wondered if Zay's upstairs neighbors could hear the loud racket he was making.

"Maya!" Zay cheered, his face already red from the liquor she was sure he'd poured into his cup!

"Isaiah Hank Babineaux! Are you drunk?" She laughed, hugging him none the less.

Zay smiled, "Of course, so you have to catch up! I was worried you wouldn't come, Smackle has already been here for an hour!"

"But the game finished at 8?" Maya wondered

"I came straight here! Did you go home and change Maya?" Smackled asked, appearing at her side immediately

"I didn't actually make it to the game, I had an art thing I had to work on." She said, noticing Zay's frown.

"Well next time you better be front and center then!" He said after a moment, his face brightening.

Maya chuckled, and nodded, "Sure thing nutball! Now where are the drinks?"

Zay pointed Maya toward the kitchen before wandering off to the living room where people were dancing, just outside on the balcony she could see there was an intense game of beer pong going on that involved two of the football players from AAH as well as Farkle.

"Farkle is playing beer pong?" Maya asked Smackle, who had gone into the kitchen with her and was watching her steadily tip the whiskey bottle over into a red solo cup.

"Yeah, he wanted to play, but I didn't really feel lie being made fun of for not being very good, so I told Farkle to be my celebrity shot for most of my turns." Smackle replied

Maya chuckled, adding a splash of coke to her drink before taking a large sip from her cup.

"Farkle is going to get shitfaced." She said

Smackle laughed, "He'll be alright, I can take him home, plus, I'm pretty sure they didn't put beer in all of his cups.

"Good!" Maya remarked, downing the rest of her drink and beginning to make another one.

"Moving a little fast there aren't ya Shortstack?" A deep voice slurred from behind her.

Maya saw Smackle's eyes flash and groaned as the genius girl scampered away.

"I can drink whatever I want thanks." She told Lucas

He smiled, taking the whiskey bottle from her hand and tossing it back, taking a long pull before wiping his mouth on his shirt sleeve and handing it back.

"I wasn't telling you not to drink." He clarified

Maya rolled her eyes, "What are you even doing in here, isn't your girlfriend out on the balcony with the cheerleaders? Go bug her, leave me alone."

Lucas' face darkened a bit, "I don't have a girlfriend."

Maya inhaled sharply mid sip, causing herself to choke a bit.

"What are you on about?" She asked in between coughs.

Lucas chuckled, thumping her on the back to help her breathe more easy. "We broke up towards the end of the summer."

"Why?" Maya wondered

Lucas sighed, "It's just a long story, not the kind you tell a beautiful girl at a party."

She tried her best not to blush.

"So then why don't you hook up with some other cheerleaders?"

"Is that the kind of guy you think I am?" Lucas snapped

Maya jumped a bit. "I don't really know what kind of a guy you are. I don't exactly know you anymore."

Lucas's eyes met hers for a brief moment, she shifted awkwardly, trying not to seem uncomfortable under his intense stare.

"I don't do random hookups." Lucas said more gently, the tone of his voice causing Maya's skin to prickle a bit.

Maya simply nodded.

"Who are you here with?" Lucas asked her, stepping back to give her a little space.

Taking another pull from her drink Maya smiled, "Zay invited me."

Lucas nodded, "That's cool. So you guys are still close?"

Maya nodded, drinking a bit more.

"And you still talk to Farkle and Smackle too right?" He pressed

"Smackle is my best friend, and Farkle loves her, so yeah, I see a lot of them." Maya explained

"Do you ever talk to Riley?" He wandered

Maya frowned, biting back a snarl she shot him a look that could kill, "Riley made her choice."

Lucas back pedaled quickly. "Of course, I just thought that eventually you two would have talked it out."

"What were we supposed to talk about exactly?" Maya asked, her face a mask of pure disgust.

Lucas sighed, "I don't know, I'd never seen better friends than you."

"Well that all ended when you came along didn't it."

"I never meant to ruin your friendship," Lucas explained, "I didn't think it through, I was 15, no one can blame me for the dumb shit that I did back then."

Maya tossed her drink back and rolled her eyes, "I can blame who I want for what I want Friar."

And with that she marched out of the kitchen, leaving him blinking after her.

Maya found Smackle and the two girls played a few rounds of kings cup before she returned to the kitchen to take shots with Zay. She danced with Farkle, and had a really good time showing some Junior girls how to make football players come over and talk to them. For the most part she had a good time, but she couldn't help but notice Lucas in the outskirts of her vision everywhere she went. He was on the balcony watching her crush his teammates at beer pong, and he was dancing in the livingroom just out of her line of sight, she could feel him watching her, and despite the lies she told herself, she really did like it.

Finally, around 1 in the morning, the party began to quell, and people started heading off slowly. Maya was sure that the hardcore guys would be here till well after two, but she'd had a lot to drink already, and was getting kind of sleepy.

Stumbling over to the screen door, she called out to Zay.

"I'm going home!" She told him

He shook his head at her, "Don't leave! The party isn't finished."

"I know, but I'm drunk. I want to go to sleep." She replied

Zay pointed towards the stairs, "Go sleep in my bed."

"I tried, there's someone in there!" Maya groaned

Zay's eyes widened in shock, and without another word, he took off towards his bedroom. Maya took this as her escape route. Snatching her phone and keys off the kitchen counter, she stumbled out into the hall and jammed the button for the elevator. Her walk to the subway entrance was a haze, but she managed to get under ground and into the tunnel without much trouble. Dizzy, she leaned on the wall while she waited for her train.

"Look at you!" Someone said off to her right

She turned her head slowly to see a large man in a black trench coat smiling at her. She couldn't place her finger on why he looked so funny to her, but the moment she saw him she started laughing.

"You alright little girl?" He asked her

Maya nodded, calming her giggles, "Just a little tipsy!"

The man's leering smile widened as he slid closer to her, wrapping a thick hand around her wrist.

"You look like you need someone to take you home." He sneered, close to her ear.

Suddenly Maya wasn't laughing anymore, and though she'd felt giggly a moment ago, she now had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Let go of me." She said quietly, her eyes shifting to look for someone else in the station who could help her.

"Aw now sugar, why you gotta be so mean, you don't like me?" He asked, by now he'd moved in front of her, forcing her back against the wall as he nearly covered her body with his. She could smell liquor coming off of his foul breath.

"Let me go!" She repeated louder this time, as his other hand trailed over her shoulder and down her side. He slid a hand around her body to grab her ass, and she used her free arm to push him away.

"You shouldn't push me little girl, you'll make me angry." He warned her

Maya's heart was pounding now, as she looked towards the entrance to see if anyone else had come down into the tunnel. Her stomach dropped as she realized they were still very alone.

"You're so pretty." He sneered in her ear, inhaling the scent of her hair.

Maya felt the tears well up in her eyes as she could feel him pressing his crotch against her. She balled up her free fist and wapped him over the head.

"Get off!" She screamed, startling him enough to cause him to rear back, she began to put up a real fight them

 _SMACK!_

Maya screamed as the stranger's hand came in contact with her face, he hit her so hard she saw lights dancing in front of her eyes.

"I told you to stay still you little bitch." He shouted

Maya bit back a sob as the man shoved her back toward the wall. She braced herself for the impact that never came.

"What the fuck!" Her attacker yelled, and she opened her eyes to see him flying backwards, his feet in the air.

Maya released a breath, tears flying as she rushed away from the wall. It took her a moment to notice the sounds of a fight beside her.

"Fucking creep!" Lucas yelled as he brought his fist down again and again on the mans face.

Maya watched in grateful horror as Lucas beat her attacker unconscious. It was only when the man's head had rolled back that she realized he didn't intend to stop.

"Lucas." She said, her voice thick with tears, but he didn't acknowledge he'd heard her

She watched him land two more blows, "LUCAS!" She screamed, her voice shrill and loud this time.

He stopped, fist mid air and turned toward her.

"Are you ok?" He asked, getting up off the creepy man and rushing to stand in front of her. He took her face in his hands gently, and examined the hand print shaped bruise that was starting to form.

"You're going to have a black eye if we don't get some ice on this." He told her.

She said nothing, still crying harder than she ever had. So hard she could barely breathe.

He pulled her into him. "You're ok! It's ok, you're safe. I promise."

Maya took a deep, gasping, shuddering breath, and released another sob. "I want to go home." She cried

Lucas nodded, "Ok. I will take you home."

Maya shook her head, "I can't, I am dr-drunk. I look a me-mess."

Her sobs continued to shake her body.

"Ok. That's fine, it's ok. You can come home with me." He told her

She seemed to hesitate, but the blacked out man on the floor a few feet away began to stir so she nodded, and took Lucas' hand, allowing him to pull her back up onto the street and out into the night.

I struggle with the 3rd person... can you tell? Let me know in the reviews section!


	6. Just How Fast The Night Changes

**~ Lucas ~**

The walk back home to his house had taken them longer than it should have, he only lived two blocks from Zay, but Maya had been trembling so bad that he'd finally had to pick her up and carry her into his building.

"Ok. Here we go." He said, as he set her down in his apartment.

He watched her as she wiped at her eyes, she was still crying, which worried him.

"Come on Maya, let's get you cleaned up." He said

Taking her hand, he lead her down the hall toward his bathroom, ushering her inside and closing the door behind him. He faced her away from the mirror so that she wouldn't see her face, before unzipping her jacked and helping her out of it. She flinched a bit and he frowned.

"I promise I won't hurt you Maya, if you want I can even wait outside, but you have to take a shower." He told her.

She said nothing, only giving him the smallest nod of acknowledgement, which he took to mean that she wanted him to go. Backing away from her, he made a move toward the door.

"Stay." She ground out, her voice small and raspy, but the word was clear.

He nodded, and helped her lift her shirt over her head before stepping back so she could wiggle out of her pants.

He tried not to look at her body as she finished undressing, and instead busied himself with getting the shower ready. Pulling back the curtain, he fixed the water to a decent temperature and helped her step into the tub.

"I'll be right back." He told her, "I have to get you some clean clothes, and some ice. Use whatever you want."

She glanced over her shoulder to nod at him before he pulled the curtain back into place, hiding her from his view. He took a deep breath before opening the bathroom door and marching out into the hall.

He made a mental note of his own need for a shower, deciding that it would be best to get himself cleaned up before she got done bathing. Quickly, he jogged down the hall into his parents' room, throwing the door open and heading for their shower. He stripped and hosed down quickly, enjoying the smell of his dads body wash for a moment before hopping out and wrapping a towel around his waist.

He stepped out into the hall to find a wet Maya wrapped in a towel standing in his hallway.

"You didn't come back." She said so quietly he could barely hear.

Lucas's heart broke. "I'm sorry. I was really gross, I wanted to rinse off before I went looking for clothes. Did you finish your shower."

She nodded, "I used the strawberry shampoo and conditioner, I hope that's ok."

He nodded, "It's fine, it's not mine, my cousin left it behind when she visited from Texas last month."

"Oh. Ok." She said

Lucas motioned towards his bedroom door.

"Let's get you some clothes. "

Maya followed him into the room and he began to root through his drawers for something that would fit her.

"Aha! He said, pulling out an old Pin Floyd T-Shirt he'd bought at a concert when he was in middle school. "This should fit you alright." He said tossing it to her.

Maya held it up and wrinkled her nose.

"What?" He asked

"It's got holes in it!" She said, tossing it back to him

Luke frowned and held the shirt up in front of him, noticing immediately how tattered it had become.

"My bad," He laughed, pulling out white T and handing it to her, "Guess you have to wear one of my current ones. You're going to be swimming in it."

Maya said nothing as she slipped the shirt over her head, and Lucas chuckled as the entire shirt nearly covered the towel she had on beneath it.

"Can I have bottoms?" Maya asked bashfully.

Lucas turned away to hide his blush and grabbed a pair of boxers he'd never used.

"Here, they're brand new, so don't freak out." He told her tossing them her way

Maya caught the boxers and stepped into them, letting the towel fall out from under her clothes once she knew she was covered. She'd had to roll the waistband of his boxers more than 5 times, but at least her ass wasn't hanging out.

"Thank you." She told him, once he finished getting dressed.

"No problem." He told her

Maya took a moment to look around his bedroom while Lucas slid a pair of sweat pants on. He had Texas longhorn posters on every wall, along with a Cowboys helmet and giant Lonestar poster right above his bed.

"You ready for bed?" He asked her, once he'd returned his towel to the rack. He was shirtless, and he noticed Maya's eyes do a quick scan of his abs.

She nodded.

"Cool. I'm going to sleep in my parents room just down the hall, you can have my bed." He said

He saw the panic set in on her face. "Where are your parents?" she asked

"Mama's in Texas visiting Pappy Joe and Mamaw Ruth, and my Dad's in the field till Monday." Lucas explained

Maya nodded, but she didn't seem to relax.

"Come on, it's late, you'll feel better tomorrow, after you've had a chance to sleep it off." He told her

She sighed a bit and walked over to the bed.

Lucas pulled back the sheets and held them up for her to crawl under. He knew she'd probably still be cold under his thick comforter and sheets, since he kept his room damn near freezing.

"If you get chilly, there's an extra blanket on my desk chair." He said pointing to where he'd tossed the wool blanket he kept there.

Maya said nothing as he turned around and flipped off the lights. He'd nearly made it out the door before she spoke.

"Lucas?" She asked, her voice small.

"What's up?" He replied

Lucas watched her take a steadying breath, "Do you think you could, maybe, stay in here. With me?" She asked

He tried to ignore his inner sly smile, reasoning that the only reason she was asking was because she was still scared.

He nodded his head and shut the bedroom door before motioning for her to move over.

"Thanks." She said once he'd laid down next to her.

He listened to her breathing for a long time after that. It helped him to relax. Finally after a few minutes of fighting sleep, he nodded off, not feeling her snake her arm across his chest, or throw a leg over his.

Am I getting better? Let me know in your review!


	7. Waking Up Beside You

**~ Maya ~**

The first thing she noticed when she awoke was that her pillow was moving. She could feel her head slowly rising and falling at a methodical pace. Still half asleep, she drifted back off into the land of slumber for a few more minutes before she realized that her pillow was also much harder than usual. Prying one eye open, she lifted her head to examine her immediate surroundings.

It only took a moment to realize that she wasn't in her room. After that, the hazy memories from the night before came flooding back. Suddenly she felt the panic start to rise inside her as she wondered if she was safe. She didn't notice the whimpers that had escaped her.

"Maya?" Lucas said groggily, sitting up slowly and turning to look at her, "What's wrong?"

Maya shook her head, her heart pounding all the while, "The subway!"

Lucas sighed, pulling her back down next to him and wrapping her in his arms. "You're ok. You're safe. You came home with me remember?"

Maya nodded, slowly she managed to regain a sense of calm.

"You wanna go back to sleep?" Lucas asked, "Or are you up for the day."

"I don't think I can sleep." She replied

Lucas drew in a deep breath and nodded, "Alright, let's have something to eat then. I'm hungover so I need coffee, and bread."

Maya said nothing, but crawled out of the bed after him as he padded out of the room and down the hall.

In the kitchen, she parked herself at the island while he opened the refrigerator and began looking for something to fix for breakfast.

"How about eggs?" He asked, holding up the carton for her

"Sure." She said with a small smile.

Lucas busied himself with breakfast, fixing the eggs and popping two bagels in the toaster before returning to the fridge for more food.

"Aha!" He cheered, turning around with a package of bacon in his hand

"Jackpot!" Maya called, laughing a bit.

"Extra crispy?" He asked her

Maya smiled, and nodded her head.

Lucas tossed the bacon into the pan before turning his gaze to her.

"So, you ok?" He asked, his tone a bit sad

Maya nodded, "I'm alright. It was just really scary. It could have been a lot worse… Thanks, by the way."

It was Lucas' turn to nod, "Don't worry about it. I am glad I was there."

"Why were you in the subway anyway?" She wondered, "You can walk to Zay's from here."

Lucas blushed, "I kind of followed you after you left the party. I wanted to make sure you got on the train ok. You looked like you'd had a bit too much."

Maya frowned, "You followed me?"

"Well when you say it like that it sounds really fucking creepy, but yeah."

He turned back to the pan and flipped the bacon once before returning to their conversation.

"You should have taken someone with you." Lucas said

Maya shook her head, "I've never had to take anyone with me anywhere before! I grew up in New York, I've been taking the subway by myself since I was 5."

"That's great, but I think subways may be a bit more dangerous at 2 in the morning." He rolled his eyes.

Maya sighed, "I guess you're right."

"I'm glad you were smart enough not to try to fight him, he was a big guy." Lucas continued

"I was too afraid. He hit me once and my face still hurts." She grumbled

Lucas laughed a bit, "Yeah, you have a mighty bruise, looks like you were in a bar fight."

Maya's eyes widened and she hopped off the stool and ran back towards the bathroom. Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, she nearly cried when she noticed the purple bruise under her right eye.

"I HAVE A BLACK EYE!" She shouted

Lucas' muffled response came from the kitchen, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Returning to the kitchen, she repeated herself.

"I have a black eye."

Lucas nodded, "I know. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. Probably a good thing we put ice on it last night."

Maya nodded. Watching Lucas move around the kitchen, she studied him. The way that his muscles rippled just beneath the skin on his back and he moved things around, the way he stood, and the way he walked. He set her plate in front of her before he began to eat himself, standing on the other side of the island. It was then that she caught sight of his bruised hand and cut knuckles.

"I'm not the only one who looks like I've been in a bar fight." She commented

He raised his head and looked at her curiously, still chewing on his bacon.

"Your knuckles," She continued, "It looks like you beat the crap out of someone last night."

He chuckled, "That's because I beat the crap out of someone last night."

"Do they hurt?" She asked

He only shook his head, while shoveling in more food.

She scanned his swollen bruised hand slowly, looking for any sign that he was in pain. Finally, she spoke her mind,

"I didn't think you were going to stop." She said

He frowned, "What do you mean?"

"The guy in the subway," She clarified, "I didn't think you were going to stop hitting him. I thought you were going to kill him."

Lucas frowned, "I thought I was too."

She wasn't sure how to respond. Part of her was flattered that he was willing to do something so drastic for her. On the other hand, she wasn't sure why he did it, and that gave her pause.

"I'm really glad you found me." She said quietly

Lucas simply smiled.


End file.
